Castaways on a Sullen Sea
By weasleywheezes

SPECIAL THANKS TO: givetozim, who helped me with the Latin...

Chapter 22 – The Hunter is Captured by the Game

On the edge of the precipice, Severus Snape and his former master, the Dark Lord Voldemort, stood face to face. The wind lashed around the two wizards, as they sized each other up with steely eyes. Voldemort held Severus captive with his wand. "Finally, spy, your time has come."

"How long have you known?" Severus asked through the pain.

"It's none of your concern how long I've known, only that I do know," Voldemort snapped. He waved his wand slightly; Severus did an involuntary sort of St. Vitus' Dance. "Betrayal. What a horrible thing for someone to do, betray their master."

"You were never my master!"

Upon hearing Severus' declaration, Voldemort began to laugh. "Oh, but I once was, else there wouldn't be my mark on your arm. Severus, do you remember when first we met on this cliff?" the Dark Lord slithered.

Severus kept his eyes open and gritted his teeth. "Yes."

Voldemort smiled, but it was detached. "I remember, too. You bent on one knee…" Severus' body betrayed him, and his left leg buckled. "…I placed my symbol upon you, called you one of my own, and you pledged to serve me until mortal death."

The Dark Mark began to ache, stinging with an intensity that Severus had never before felt. His eyes began to water, and he clinched his jaw. His strength failed him as the Crucitus Curse began to inflict its total devastation on him. Voldemort toyed with his body, causing him to genuflect deeper and deeper until he was on the ground.

"You deceived me, Snape. You turned your back on your family, much like your own father did. Of course, that's what you think."

Severus' eyes stung with burning tears. "V-v-Voldemort!"

The evil wizard laughed. "Now you call upon me! I invoke the name of your worthless father and you crumble! Just like a Snape," Voldemort spat.

Snape's nose was now bloodied, having involuntarily bashed himself over and over into a large rock embedded in the ground. "What are you talking about? My father abandoned us."

The Dark Lord's venomous laugh echoed off the cliffs. "My father abandoned us!" he mocked. "No wonder they call you Snivellus. No, my fine idiot, your father did not abandon you. He didn't have time to even think about leaving you and your wretched whore of a mother. I disposed of him. He wouldn't consider joining my army of followers, so I murdered him, but kept watch on you as my special project. What I could do with a young man seething with rage at the world! You could have been my most loyal servant. Now, you are a destitute, friendless and despised potions master at a second-rate boarding school!"

Severus knew that to show emotion would mean defeat. He stayed solemn as a stone as Voldemort railed against him. "You could have had it all, boy. I would have given it to you after my reign was over. Malfoy believed he was my heir, but he was wrong. He thought I needed him. He was half right; I needed his immense wealth to further my cause. But you…you had the talent, the hunger to prove yourself. You were the perfect pureblooded wizard to take my place. I taught you everything that made you who you are."

"No!" Severus screamed, a scrap of fear entering his voice. "I learned nothing from you!"

"Really? You learned the lessons I wanted you to learn, Severus. A young, tender shoot that I trampled. But you were strong. You are still strong. It's not too late to rejoin me."

"Never!" Severus yelped. He had to hold on, to resist any curse Voldemort could throw at him. Hermione would come for him; he knew it in his heart.

---

Three speeding brooms raced high and fast towards the west. It seemed as though Harry knew instinctively where Snape and Voldemort would be. Ron and Hermione could only follow helplessly as Harry raced toward the ocean. "Ron, Harry, I can't hold on much longer!" Hermione shrieked, as she abruptly stopped.

Ron slowed a bit and grabbed onto Hermione's broom. "Now, just duck low, and I'll take care of you," Ron murmured into Hermione's ear as he attempted to catch up with Harry, who had zoomed past the two at a breakneck pace.

Harry stopped near a grove of trees; Ron and Hermione caught up with him. Harry's connection to Voldemort seemed stronger than ever, but he was confused. His scar burned as fire, and he felt as though Professor Snape wasn't the only person in perilous danger this evening. He knew that Hermione would know where Snape was being held, and decided to ask her. "Hermione, do you have any idea where Snape might be?"

Hermione shook her head.

"What did he say? Anything?"

She pondered for a moment, and then answered, "He said something about being reborn?"

Ron scoffed. "That really helps, Hermione…

Harry shook his head. "No, that can't be right. Think, Hermione, word for word!"

The frightened girl closed her eyes and thought about those last few moments when Severus stood between her and the evil that was Voldemort. Suddenly, she gasped. "Cliff! Cliff! Harry, he's going to be at the cliff near Snape Manor!"

Ron, who was still clutching Hermione's hand, sped toward Harry and the trio flew faster toward Snape Manor. After what seemed to be forever, bobbing and weaving through wind currents, they approached an electrical storm. The wind abruptly stopped, and it became eerily still. Ron was first to speak.

"You-Know-Who," he said hoarsely, "and Snape."

Voldemort was thrashing the Professor to a bloody pulp. Hermione muffled a sharp cry. Harry could almost taste Snape's fear. Over the years, he had learned to begrudgingly respect the potions master, yet he still held a deep loathing for him in his heart. He looked toward Hermione. He saw true horror in her eyes, saw that her hand was trembling, and at first he thought it was because of Voldemort. Then he looked again and followed her gaze to Snape, barely standing and weak. Harry realized in that moment that Hermione's feelings for Snape were genuine, and he knew that no matter what he felt about the professor, he could not knowingly hurt Hermione. He turned away for a second, then took a deep breath.

"This will be the last time Voldemort tortures anyone," he said stoically. He pointed his wand at his feared enemy and screamed, "Crucitus!"

Voldemort's body became rigid, and he screamed. He turned his head slightly toward the trio. He was too powerful for the curse to work correctly. He smirked a malevolent smile. "Potter. We meet again. When will you learn you cannot vanquish me?" he bellowed, as he aimed his wand at Harry.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, "Look out!"

Harry spun around and quickly moved to his left, and missed a bolt from Voldemort's wand. Harry steeled himself and stood in the open. "You missed, Voldemort," he said coolly.

Snape, ignored by the Dark Lord, rose to his feet and clasped his wand. He looked toward Hermione and Ron. He nodded his head toward Harry and mouthed, "Unmentionable."

Ron's mouth dropped. "He wants us to do what?"

Hermione acquiesced. "The greater good demands that we do this."

"But how do we convince Harry?"

Hermione slowly began to walk toward Harry, her hand clutched tightly around her wand. Voldemort was still playing a game of chicken with Harry, who lobbed back his own shots. When she was within earshot of Harry, she said, "Unmentionable!"

Harry shook his head. "I can't!"

Ron yelled, "It's the only way!"

"The greater good, Harry, the greater good!" Hermione said.

Harry stood, seriously contemplating what the greater good really was. Voldemort was still formidable, but his ordeal with Snape had taken a lot out of him. It would be simple now for Harry to defeat his mortal foe and restore safety and honour to the wizarding world. Murdering him would save so many, he thought. Kill or be killed. However, assassinating Voldemort would be no less immoral than what the Dark Lord was doing to others. Harry felt torn. What truly was the greater good?

Hermione looked toward Severus, yelled at him to get Voldemort's attention away from Harry.Snape nodded in agreement, but before he could lower his wand, Voldemort cast a spell that knocked him down. Hermione screamed in panic, but she and Ron aimed their wands toward the Dark Lord. "Cructius!" they roared in unison.

Voldemort's body froze momentarily, but his gaze and wand were still upon Harry. "Potter," he sneered, "Your friends cannot stop me!"

Harry glanced to his left, where he saw Snape on the verge of death. He saw his two best friends, people who had no reason to be here, to stand by his side, except that they were mates. Then he saw Voldemort growing stronger by the minute. The dark wizard seemed to shake off the curse. The smell of imminent death was in the air. Harry knew that he had to get Hermione, Ron, and the professor out of harm's way. The only thing he could think of was an ultimatum. "Voldemort, this battle is between you and me. Let the others go."

Voldemort smiled grimly. "Young Potter, so brave, so loyal to his stupid friends. Fine. We'll have it your way." He pointed his wand at Hermione and Ron, who were helping the professor limp away from the cliff's edge, and said forcefully, "Dissaeptum Impenetrabilis!" The trio were encapsulated in a type of force field. He laughed cruelly. "Now, Potter, it's just you and me, and soon, it'll only be me."

---

Hermione and Ron pounded in vain at the barrier that Voldemort had placed around them. They screamed to Harry, but he couldn't hear them. "It's no use," Ron said. "We can't help him."

"We weren't supposed to help him, remember?" Hermione said flatly. "This is between Harry and Voldemort. All we can do is watch."

Ron slumped to the ground. "Harry's no match for You-Know-Who. He can't kill him. He doesn't have it in him. He's going to fail."

"On the contrary, Weasley," Severus said weakly. "He's just like his father. James Potter never did anything halfway. He'll know what to do. Look at him."

Harry stood boldly in the open and pointed his wand toward the Dark Lord, who looked more like an emaciated snake than a human being. Voldemort's eyes grew wide. This was the boy he had tried to destroy so many years ago, the boy who grew into the man who had become the force of good in the wizarding world, and now he had directed his wand at his heart. Ron and Hermione felt a panic building in their chests as they saw the impending murder of someone, and in their hearts, they felt it would be their devoted friend, Harry Potter.

The wands seemed to be the ones locked in battle. Sparks flew from both of them, and it seemed to last forever. The wait became too much for Hermione, who fainted. Ron was able to catch her, and he held her close to him. Severus looked at the tender moment playing out in front of him, and he realized that poor, foolish Weasley was in love with the girl. He also realized that Hermione was probably aware of Weasley's feelings, and yet still chose him – Severus Snape. It warmed his heart. He turned away from the two teenagers and looked at the bizarre battle raging less than 30 yards away. Potter and the Dark Lord were united wand to wand. Both were bloody, obviously tired; Severus felt the slightest bit of fear for Potter.

Severus and Ron watched, quietly, horrified, as Harry stared deep into Voldemort's snakelike eyes. Harry clutched his wand with one hand, his scar with the other. He stood up straight and bellowed something, and a shaft of light enveloped the two.

"He's done it, Professor," Ron gasped. "The curse. He's done it."

It had felt as though Severus and Ron were stuck in time. Nothing seemed to move; the shaft of light as bright as when Harry and Voldemort were locked in battle. They couldn't see anything. Ron kept working on trying to get Hermione revived. He knew that she would want to know the outcome as it happened. Finally, she stirred.

"Ron…Ron, what's… where are we?" she whispered hoarsely.

Ron, overcome with emotion, broke down into tears. "He's done it, Hermione. Harry. He's killed him."

"What are you saying?" she asked softly.

Ron held her close to him and cried into her shoulder. "I don't know, but Harry did it. I'm so afraid."

Severus watched as Hermione cuddled close into Ron's arms. "It'll be okay, Ron. Harry'll make it. I know he will. He can't…he j-just can't…" she stuttered.

"The Dark Lord is no more," Severus said enigmatically. "Look."

The light began to wane, and there were two bodies lying haphazardly on the rocky ground beyond the barrier. The barrier itself started to become porous. Hermione peeked over Ron's shoulder and gasped. Ron turned, leapt to his feet. "Here, Weasley. Control yourself," Severus said dully.

Ron's eyes flashed with anger. He ran toward Severus, blinded by tears, throwing punches. "You…you did this on purpose! You lead us here! He…you…you've murdered him! Harry was right! You were trying to kill him all this time, and now you've done it! But you're out of luck, Snape, because your stupid Dark Lord has died!" Ron said hysterically. "Why won't you fight? WHY WON'T YOU FIGHT? I'm going to kill you!"

He lunged at Severus, blindsiding him and landing a harsh uppercut to Severus' face. "You murderer! You betrayed Hermione! Look what you did! You've killed him! Why did you have to take my girl? Why? Why couldn't you have just killed Harry some other way? Why did you have to drag my Hermione into this?" Ron sobbed, spit flying out of his mouth.

His rage continued, "Snape, you fucking bastard. I hate you! I hate you! You've ruined my life! You've killed my best friend, you've stolen the love of my life, you…you…"

Ron collapsed, beating his fists into the ground, his tears mingling with the dust beneath him. Hermione stood silently, watching as Ron cried and Severus bled profusely. She turned to look away, staring at the grotesque sight of the withered Voldemort and the unresponsive, prone body of Harry. She mopped the blurry tears out of her eyes. Damn all this sadness. It made everything seem like it was crawling. The more she wiped at her tears, the more it seemed that Harry was moving.

"My… Harry. HARRY!" she screamed, and ran to him.

Severus raced towards Harry, also, and caught Hermione before she reached Harry's remains. "Hermione, he's dead. He's dead."

"No! He's alive! I saw him. Harry!" she cried.

Ron stood up and began to walk in the direction of Hermione, Snape, and the lifeless corpse of his best friend. Choking on his tears, he moved slowly, his eyes scanning the scene around him. Hermione fought to get to Harry. Severus was holding her back. "He's dead, you shouldn't disturb him."

"No! HARRY! Harry! I know you can hear me, make a sign, please!" Hermione bellowed.

Ron reached Severus' side and took a step toward Harry's body. Suddenly, he stopped and gazed at Harry's hand. "Look," he whispered. "Hermione. Look. Look! Look!" he yelled, and ran to Harry's side.

Hermione broke free of Severus' grasp and also ran to Harry. She took his wrist. "There's a pulse. Oh, my god, he's alive! He's alive!" she cried, and flung herself onto Ron with joy. Ron hugged Hermione tight. "It's all right! We're all right!"

Severus stood, speechless. Potter was stronger than he knew, than he could have ever imagined. Potter had done what he, Severus Snape, could never do. He defeated Voldemort and banished him from this earth. It didn't fully hit him until he looked down at his arm, which no longer burned. The Dark Mark grew fainter. Severus allowed himself to feel the emotion that was running through him. He was free. They were all free from the Dark Lord.